Show me where it hurts: Cardinals at Chargers

Probable. Questionable. Doubtful. Out. Injuries are a huge part of every NFL game, and its preparation. Lets take a look at where the Chargers may have some trouble brewing on the field due to injuries, and see where their opponent, the Arizona Cardinals, are also weakened.

OFFENSE

Right Guard Louis "Nasty" Vasquez will not play Sunday, and his presence will be missed dearly. Pacstud's Analysis shows backup Tyronne Green struggled giving up a sack and multiple pressures while taking his place last week. Hopefully he got plenty of reps and will be a steady presence come game time. Cardinals 2 time Pro-Bowler DT/DE Darnell Dockett frequently attacks centers and guards and will probably spend more time attacking Green and trying to draw the double team from Nick Hardwick. Its unlikely he'll be lined up across from Kris Dielman much as he won't win many battles against the brick wall with legs that he is. What that means is that there may be a few times when A-gap blitzes are used and blind side blitzes as well. Expect Norv Turner to counter this by using many 2 TE sets or having Shotgun snaps with 2 backs in pass protect and delaying their routes to stay in on chip duties. If Green struggles, expect many plays as mentioned. 

DEFENSE

On the other side of the field, things look downright dreadful. Both OLB's Shawne Merriman and Larry English are likely to be out this game. As far as both ILB's Stephen Cooper and Brandon Siler go, they'll be playing at less than 100%, so expect a rotation of sorts with them throughout the game to keep them from wearing out their hurt body parts. Not having Merriman and English means that, not only will the pass rush suffer greatly, but outside run pressure will need to be addressed. Expect Ron Rivera to play many offset 3-4 fronts with Antonio Garay or one of the other nose tackles playing the A gap almost exclusively to draw automatic double teams. This will leave Ends Luis Castillo and Jacques Cesaire to play an aggressive 4 technique to try and leave the ILBs and nearside OLB to move in tight on the running lane, very similar to what the team did in 2008 when Merriman was also out. This will also mean the Safties will have to play closer to prevent big runs. I'm personally not worried about that as Eric Weddle is very smart and probably won't bite when the Cardinals go playaction. Rookie Darrell Stuckey may not play due to injury, and even if healthy, may be inactive. I'm anxious to see what he is capable of, being a fast player with the smarts to find the ballcarrier, but Steve Gregory may take his place again this week. With the slew of injuries in the front seven, the Cardinals will want to go "Ground and Pound" in hopes of keeping El Capitán on the sidelines and not shredding their secondary. I expect to see a lot of playaction, and passes out of run formations if the Bolts decide to spend a lot of time near the line of scrimmage to stop the run. Hopefully, El Toro and King Kong can do enough in Merriman's place to limit the Cards to under 4 ypc. That should be enough for them to keep Derek Anderson in check and unable to win the game himself. 

CARDINALS 

OFFENSE

Derek Anderson will have a very hard time throwing the ball. He will either target the awesome Larry Fitzgerald 20 times during the game, or miss many throws to his other receivers. Why, you ask? Well both Steve Breaston and Early Doucet have proven to be capable receivers like Naanee and CBD have here in the 619, but they won't be playing. That leaves 3rd rounder Andre Roberts, and undrafted rookies Stephen Williams and Max Komar to catch passes in their absence. Ron Rivera may trust his talented group of veteran Corners to cover the receivers 1 on 1 in order to get pressure on Horse Balls Anderson, and run blitz the bejeesus out of the Cardinals in order to keep the running game from achieving any success. When the young guys do make some catches, everyone needs to go for the strip-tackle, like Cason on Mike Sims-Walker in week 2. The young receivers are bound to have lapses in focus and the Bolts need to capitalize. If the Ball can stay on the Chargers' side of offense, Rivers and Mathews can go on many time-consuming drives to let their depleted defense stay fresh and more importantly, healthy.